Airstrike kills 11 soldiers, wounds 7; AFP probe on

Fire rages at several houses following airstrikes by Philippine Air Force bombers to retake control of Marawi city from Muslim militants who lay siege for nearly a week, Saturday, May 27, 2017 in southern Philippines. Philippine military jets fired rockets at militant positions Saturday as soldiers tried to wrest back control of a southern city from gunmen linked to the Islamic State group, witnesses said. Civilians waved flags from their windows to show they are not combatants. AP

A military investigation is under way to determine how an airstrike directed at Maute terrorists holed up in Marawi City hit and killed 11 soldiers and wounded seven others instead, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said on Thursday.

Speaking to reporters in Malacañang, Lorenzana said Gen. Eduardo Año, chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, ordered the investigation to  determine whether it was miscommunication, pilot error or mistakes by people on the ground that led to the deadly friendly fire.

A converted SIAI-Marchetti S-260 jet was on a bombing run over Maute positions in Marawi on Wednesday when one bomb hit Army troops locked in close-range combat with the terrorists who had taken cover in buildings and houses, Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla, spokesperson for the AFP, told reporters at military headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

The plane had made three successful bombing runs before dropping the wayward bomb, Padilla said.

In Malacañang, Lorenzana said two aircraft were involved in the air-support mission. The first plane hit its targets but the second apparently made a mistake and hit an Army position on its last run.

He said the aircraft used conventional bombs on that mission.

Standard procedure during airstrikes include constant communication between pilots and controllers on the ground, and ensuring the coordinates of the target are clear, Lorenzana said.

Fog of war

“Sometimes in the fog of war a lot of things could happen. Accidents happen, like this,” Lorenzana said.

The friendly fire deaths brought to 171 the number of people killed in the Marawi crisis.

The death toll includes 19 civilians and 32 government forces.

The bombing accident came during the first offensive deployment of fixed-wing aircraft on the ninth day of the military operation to flush out the terrorists who laid siege to Marawi on May 23 after a failed military operation to capture Isnilon Hapilon, the Abu Sayyaf leader who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) jihadi group in Iraq and Syria.

The military may limit airstrikes against the terrorists in Marawi as a result of the friendly-fire incident, but Lorenzana said he would leave the decision to the ground commanders.

Running out of smart bombs

Lorenzana said the military had precision bombs, but the supply of those munitions was dwindling and that was why some attack planes carried conventional bombs on Wednesday.

“If you drop that incorrectly and after you dive, its release would either be early or delayed, and you may not be able to hit the target,” he said.

Lorenzana said there was only “one strong pocket of resistance” in Marawi and if the military could concentrate on that area, there may no longer be any need for airstrikes.

The terrorists are holed up in buildings and snipers are hindering the movement of government forces, he said.

The terrorists’ position is located in a heavily built area of the city, where buildings make it hard for the military to hit targets with artillery, he added.

Lorenzana said he believed Hapilon, who is allied with the Maute group, was in the area.

In Camp Aguinaldo, Año said he had ordered the AFP Inspector General to form a board of inquiry to investigate the friendly fire.

The board will be headed by Maj. Gen. Rafael Valencia, he said.

The aircraft and its pilots have been grounded, he added.

“It was very unfortunate and no one wanted it to happen,” Año said.

“I am deeply saddened and the whole AFP commiserates with the bereaved families,” he added.

Año said the military may stop using the SF-260 while the investigation was going on, but it would continue using other available ground, air and naval equipment “to resolve this crisis quickly.”

Converted trainer planes

Padilla said two SF-260s had been thrown into the fight against the Maute group in Marawi.

The Italian-made SF-260 is a trainer plane, but Padilla said the military used the version that could be fitted for combat.

Padilla said the accident happened around noon on Wednesday during an assault by ground troops on a hilly area of Marawi.

“There was an encounter at the time and they had the enemy in front of them … It’s a hilly area outside of the houses. It was on top of the hill,” Padilla said, describing the terrorists’ position.

He said the SF-260s were not carrying smart bombs that could find targets on their own.

“Someone [on the ground] was directing where the plane was going to deliver [its payload]. That is why there were three instances that the SF-260 was given a target and it successfully hit it,” Padilla said.

“But unfortunately, on the fourth instance, something happened and the bomb landed where it wasn’t supposed to land. That is what the board of inquiry is going to investigate,” he said.

Padilla declined to identify the casualties, as the military was still informing the families.

Mission first

Lawmakers and former Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro called for sobriety as news of the friendly fire deaths spread on Wednesday.

In separate statements, Teodoro, Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano and Muntinlupa Rep Ruffy Biazon said an investigation should come “at a later time.”

“All efforts must be directed at this time toward accomplishing the mission. We have to trust … the wisdom and the judgment of our defense establishment, and pray for the safety of our troops on the ground, in the air, and on water,” Teodoro said in a post on Facebook.

Alejano, a former Marine, urged Lorenzana to “reconsider airstrikes and bombing runs and artillery bombardments in built-up areas.”

He said airstrikes would result not only in casualties but also “tremendous damage” to property in Marawi.

Biazon, vice chair of the House defense committee, said friendly fire was “bound to happen under the existing conditions.”

He said the military investigation should be conducted first “to determine any adjustment in tactics and later on for accountability and appropriate penalty if warranted.” —WITH REPORTS FROM NIKKO DIZON AND AFP